Optical emissions associated with narrow bipolar events from thunderstorm clouds penetrating into the stratosphere.

ABSTRACT: Narrow bipolar events (NBEs) are signatures in radio signals from thunderstorms observed by ground-based receivers. NBEs may occur at the onset of lightning, but the discharge process is not well understood. Here, we present spectral measurements by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on the International Space Station that are associated with nine negative and three positive NBEs observed by a ground-based array of receivers. We found that both polarities NBEs are associated with emissions at 337 nm with weak or no detectable emissions at 777.4 nm, suggesting that NBEs are associated with streamer breakdown. The rise times of the emissions for negative NBEs are about 10 μs, consistent with source locations at cloud tops where photons undergo little scattering by cloud particl

SUBMITTER: Liu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8599706 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature